For a long time I have been asked to and wanting to make a Wako paper model. This month the stars have aligned for this so I started working on it.

I made a basic 3D model in Blender and then sketched over it. As reference I am using the image in the Osprey book "Fighting ships in the Far East (2)", which seems to be the inspiration for a lot of builds I see.

The size will be about 14" long and 7" wide, so enough room on deck for gaming action. Actually it will be a nice match for the Samurai Fleet I built some time ago! The Wako ship will be a little shorter than the sekibune/atakebune model.

Here is a look at the first prototype build. It went very smooth so far. Only thing I improved after the build to make the hull sides more correct. They are too straight in this one. It's a "half size" build (for 15mm figures). Wanted to make sure everything also works on smaller scale than my usual 28-30mm figure builds.

I have finished the design of the hull. Made it very sturdy so it can hold lots of metal minis

And then tested the strength of the deck build, which is made out of smaller parts (as the full deck is larger than a single page). But I think I was able to hide all the seams so it doesn't look split.

It is really huge. Should be more than enough space for gaming action even with some structures on top!

Here is a WIP look at the new weathered build. Adding those scratches and dirt give the deck a much more worn and older look. The first test builds always look unnaturally clean

I have also cut out all the (easy version) black parts on the deck and railings. Takes a little more time and effort to assemble, but so worth it, I think!

Here's a comparison of the new "advanced" build and the old easy build. TBH even the easy build doesn't look that bad (in regards to the cut out details). Depending on how many ships the fleet should have and how much time you want to invest in the build, that look is a valid option for sure.

Now I need to add the weathering for the super structures and then build them too for the final build!

Looking forward to a face of between wako pirates and samurai sekibune forces

Here is a little updated build pic, where I have replaced the towers with the easy build red wood version. I have been asked about that quite some times now, as the reference pic in the Osprey book also has these red wood variant.

I actually provide color layers to make the towers also in blue, yellow and green if you so desire